...and that's saying something! This is a horrid sitcom that should put it's writers to shame. A sex comedy involving teenagers, a horrible subject manner that relies on sex and gross out jokes.
Coming of Age is about five friends, Chloe (Anabel Barnston) and Matt (Tony Bignell), Jas (Hannah Job) and Ollie (Ceri Phillips), and the local idiot and troublemaker DK (Joe Tracini) who somehow get to do A-Levels. Chloe and Matt are best friends, and start a relationship; but both take their time before taking it to the next level. Both are immature, Chloe is very much in childish things whilst Matt acts as like a 14-year-old boy who just wants to have sex without thinking of the consequences. Jas and Ollie are very different, and have a very active sex life together, often experimenting. DK is idiot who show gets to do A-Levels at a sixth form college, and his mission in life is to harass the teachers, and pretty much finds way to expose himself to women. He is the worst case example of a chav.
The creator and main writer of the show is Tim Dawson. He was 19 when the show was commissioned and his only writing experience was for Two Pints of Lager and a Packet of Crisps. Those are warning signs straight away. The theme of Coming of Age is that it focuses on Sixth Form students (i.e. 16 to 17 year olds), having a lot of sex, and the comedy based a round the subject. I am a firm believer that sex comedy around teenage sexual behaviour should never a subject of overt comedy. It might be work as a dark comedy, but this show wasn't aiming for that. This was the show that Cruel Intentions 2 would have been. Sex comedies like American Pie work because the focuses is on 18-year-old, so are at least adults. As well as the subject matter, the humour itself is so weak. It is basically sex jokes, which are really poorly done, and other types of vulgar humour which wouldn't entertaining a child with low comic standards. Examples of the humour include a boy examining another boy's genitals with their girlfriend walking in, jokes involving girls and their sexual toys and people being able to play musical instruments with their bottom. This isn't even the low common denominate of humour.
The programme is also really out of wrack with reality. This is not what Sixth Form/A-Level students, because for a start they trend to be people who want to stay on in education and do well. A kid like DK would never ever go to sixth form, he properly never even pass his A-Levels. Chloe is way too childish to be considered normal and could have and should have been played as a typical fashion conscious girl. Some sixth form couples may be sexually active, but nowhere need the levels Ollie and Jas are and I doubt many would get up to kinky escapees. If they do then possibly something very must have happened to them. The best sitcom are often to some sort of reality which people could relate to. Examples are Peep Show, Friends and Only Fools and Horses. There is something you could believe in. They is often also some sort of drama in the best comedies and the characters are able to grow and have relationships, even in surreal ones like Scrubs or the final episode of Blackadder.
This is a horrible show that is a curse on our TV screens. It even more of a shame because there are so many talented people who are trying to break into the entertainment industry.
